It’s easy to forget how much energy it takes to keep our food fresh. So imagine taking advantage of the earth’s natural underground insulation to store and keep your vegetables. Weltevree, a Dutch design company created by Floris Schoonderbeek, specializes in products made to encourage people to take advantage of natural and outdoor living. Their Groundfridge is a modern take on the familiar root cellar concept, allowing you to keep your produce fresh without traditional refrigeration.

The Groundfridge is similar to a traditional root cellar, and it is part of a concept meant to encourage the modern homeowner to grow and store their own produce for a modern self-sufficient existence. The Groundfridge uses the insulating effect of soil and the cooling effect of groundwater. The temperature in the fridge remains stable year-round between 10 and 12° C (50 to 54° F), which is the ideal temperature for storing fruits, vegetables, wine and cheese.

The Groundfridge is placed in the ground and covered with the excavated earth. This layer of soil, about 1 meter thick, works as insulation so the temperature inside the fridge hardly varies. There is no building permit required to place the Groundfridge, and the displaced soil doesn’t need to be removed, which makes it an appealing addition to any home.

Instead of buying an expensive pre-made cellar why not use pre-cast concrete or a steel culvert and over it with soil.... It is cheaper, just as effective and wont pop out of the ground if you get a lot of rain...

I did some checking and the unit itself runs around $16,000. That and the preparation (rental of digging equipment to bury the unit) plus time involved should run somewhere near $20,000. Personally, I think it would be much cheaper to build an old-fashioned root cellar.